Washington sources reported that US President Donald Trump will not be travelling to Jerusalem for the inauguration of the new United States Embassy in that city next May 14, but in his place will send daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. Meanwhile the White House said in a statement that the US delegation will be headed by Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, who will also be joined by US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
Accordingly the US representation will be rounded out with the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and the assistant to the president and special representative for international negotiations, Jason Greenblatt. Furthermore the president suggested last week that he might attend the inauguration, but finally decided against it.
Earlier
Trump promised last December that he would move his country's embassy from Tel
Aviv to Jerusalem, a decision in defiance of the international consensus not to
recognize any sovereignty over that city until Israelis and Palestinians reach
a peace accord. Presently no country has an embassy in Jerusalem, only
consulates, whose eastern part is considered by the international community to
be Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.
